After death, A war
by Meinos Kaen
Summary: [Sequel to After Death]Naruto has been trained as a Shinigami after his death. But after a visit from 'old friends', he's back into his home world... But what Apocalypse could have changed it so much? [Bleach XOver][RXR]


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. I wish I could own some of their female characters, though…

Yes. You're not dreaming. No. You didn't read the name wrong. This fic is seriously called 'After Death: a war'. Yes, it seriously is the sequel to 'After death'! Yes, you will be soon see Naruto kicking some more Hollows ass! And along with him, make their return the powerful Hanatarou, the Kage Sasuke, the Arrankars Sakura and Kiba, and many more! And yes, you're not having hallucinations. The rating went up to M. That because the story is going to be about a war… But not only. I want to make a masterpiece out of this fic, so I will have to touch mature subjects and scenes. Said this… Enjoy!

_**The story till now…**_

_Naruto would have never thought that he would die so young, by the hands of Uchiha Sasuke, of all people. But he did. But he soon discovered that even as dead, he was someway special. A Shinigami, named Abarai Renji, took him to a place called Soul Society. He discovered that, since the Yondaime used the power of a Shinigami to seal the Kyuubi inside his body, he had acquired the powers of a Shinigami in the after-life. Due to this, he was allowed to become a Shinigami._

_He makes friends with Kuchiki Rukia and Renji, and after graduating he was placed in the 11th Division, under Zaraki Kenpachi's and most importantly Kuzajishi Yachiru's command, since the girl developed a crush on him. In a short period of time he manages to get stronger and to meet many interesting characters, such as Hanatarou, the timid 4th Division member who he pushes to improve himself, and Gin, a mod-soul who he puts into an Eddy Guerrero figure during a mission on the earth, during which he met a girl named Arisawa Tatsuki as well. During another visit he met Kurosaki Ichigo and his group of friends, but he didn't meet Rukia, who had gone missing months before._

_After her retrieval and her death sentence, he meets them again. He decides to ally with the Ryoka, as Hanatarou did as well. Hanatarou fights against his Fukutaichou, Kotetsu Isane, earning a difficult victory. Naruto, in the meanwhile, must face his crush and now nemesis Kurotsuchi Nemu who, obeying to her captain's wishes, has to capture him so that Mayuri can make experiments on him. After a though fight, Naruto seems to have the advantage, but Nemu had still an ace up her sleeve, but alerted by Matsuri's disappearing Reiatsu she left him before using it._

_Naruto would later learn, along with Hanatarou and Ichigo, from Shihouin Yoruichi, that that ace was named Ban Kai. An ace that they had to master before the day of Rukia's execution. And they managed to do it. While Naruto battles Nemu once again, Hanatarou faces Komamura. They later face Aizen, and Hanatarou even manages to injure him, even if it's just a scratch. That reveals to Hanatarou particulars about his past._

_After their recovery, Hanatarou has to face a bit of problems. Because of the side-effects of his Ban-Kai (turning him into a beautiful silver-haired man) he obtains an enormous fan-club. And good news: Naruto, Hanatarou and Nemu become the new captains, replacing the traitorous Aizen, Ichimaru and Tousen._

_But problems aren't at their end for Naruto. Soon after, two strangers enter the Sereitei, looking for him. And he knows them. They're Kiba and Sakura, but… They're no longer humans. They're Arrankars. And they suddenly open a portal that transports the three new captains to a world familiar to Naruto only… His home world._

_**One step back… Then, always forward!**_

**After death… A war**

**Chapter1: Welcome back?**

After a few seconds, to take in his surroundings… Naruto had reached a strange conclusion. He was back in his home world, and at the same time he wasn't. How? Simply. His first reaction to the scent he took in was to recognize the place that once was the Fire Country forest. Then, he used his eyes. And he immediately thought…

_This can't be… My homeworld…_

Because what he saw was something the forest of the fire country had never been. Creepy. The trees themselves were different, and sent away an aura of horror and… Of something bad. Basically, that was the point. The trunks were black, dry, and their leaves… The small things known as leaves, symbol of Konohagakure, were now cobalt blue, and they seemed even more dried that their trunks. Naruto didn't know how in the hell they still managed to stay attached to the trees.

"… I don't know what happened, here, but… It was something big. It… !"

Then, Naruto remembered how he had ended there. Kiba and Sakura. They had transported him there. And he remembered… That they were no longer humans. They were Arrankars. And… They knew Aizen. How…

"…" Then, he began to observe his surroundings. Hanatarou and Nemu weren't in sight. And he couldn't feel their Reiatsu nearby. He needed to move. "… I think… That I should pay Konohagakure a visit."

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Hanatarou had woken up in a desert. Now, if that was strange, even stranger was the fact that… It was no normal desert. First, this desert was hot, but not has hot as one would think. Second, what desert had blood-coloured sand?

"… What kind of world is this?" He began to turn around, searching for any traces of civilization, even if unfamiliar… Instead, he found a very familiar scenery when he did a full 180 degrees turn, reacting to hearing a screech and a cry for help.

He saw what looked like a little girl running, and crying for help. And behind her… Something he knew too god for his own good. After all, it was his work to get rid of those things. And those things were called Hollows. And like any good Shinigami, he immediately knew what to do. Shunpo.

"Ahhhh!" The little girl stumbled on a particularly hard heap of sand, and she fell to the ground.

"**_Stop running… Food…"_** In a second, the hollow was above her. And in a second, he was no more. The last thing he felt was a blade cutting him in half.

The girl, who was waiting for the finishing blow, turned around. And she saw the hollow disappearing and a man with silver hair, dressed in black and white, with the Kanji for '9' on the back of his vest. He turned around.

"Are you okay, he asked?" _Ah… How stupid. She can't see me, after all._

"Y-Yes. I'm okay, nii-san…" She replied. And Hanatarou was shocked. What…

"… Y-You can see me?" Hanatarou got on one knee, observing the little girl in shock. Normal people couldn't see anything made of Reiatsu. Very few people could see ghosts. Even fewer could see hollows. But no one had ever been able to see a Shinigami.

"O-Of course I can see you, nii-san. What are you talking about?" The girl got back on her little feet. Hanatarou took her time to observe her. She was wearing a brown shirt and a matching pair of shorts, but they were ragged and ruined. She had black eyes and brown hair. Her skin was tanned, but she had a lot of bruises. The most noticeable one, a bleeding one, was the one on her knee.

"… Stand still." He said. The girl did as told. Hanatarou began to use his healing arts. In a few seconds the wound was gone. "Done. All better, right?"

"… Wow! Nii-san, are you a ninja?!" Said the little girl, excited. Ninja? He had heard something from Naruto about it…

_! Wait a minute… Naruto seemed to know those two Arrankars who transported us here… And this girl talks about ninjas… Could we be… Into Naruto's home world?_

"Of course you are! But I don't see your forehead protector…" The little girl touched her chin with her right index finger, in a thoughtful way. Then, she smiled. "Why don't you come with me? I live in Sunagakure!"

"…" _Sunagakure… There's no more doubt. This is Naruto's home world. _"… Ok. But…" Hanatarou picked up the girl and positioned her on his shoulders. "I carry you and you give me indications. I can't make you walk on the sand without anything to protect your feet."

"Thanks, nii-san. By the way, my name is Sora. And you?" She asked, while embracing Hanatarou's neck.

"Hanatarou."

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Nemu woke up. And the first thing that she noticed was that her clothes were wet. But not just her clothes. Her hair, her skin, everything was wet, of herself. She got up... Only to find out that she couldn't. She was in a lake, or a sea, or whatever. She began to look around. No trace of Hanatarou or Naruto. But what she immediately noticed was… The colour of the water. It was… Black. Black water. She had never seen black water. She began to look around. There was something… It seemed like a beach. She shunpoed there. Once on the dry land, she took in her surroundings. White sand. Black water. And a thick, grey mist that made impossible to her to see anything.

"…" _Strange… What happened here?_ Nemu had something that the other Shinigami didn't have. An incredibly developed Reiatsu-sensing ability. While the other Shinigamis were able to find a particular Reiatsu source only when it was flaring, she could detect it even when kept under control. And that way… She was able to detect Reiatsu… Everywhere, around herself. The air, the ground… The water. They were filled with Reiatsu. Something had happened, there. Something terrible. And she knew that probably every living being in that area had been affected by it. Every human in that world could probably see Hollows, and after a certain period of time… They could probably see Shinigami as well. "… I can't sense Hanatarou-san or Naruto-san nearby…"

Nemu decided that she would have to look around. But before that, she made the water on her body evaporate, emitting a small amount of hot Reiatsu. But that was enough, it seemed. Since there was no ay to see anything, the Hollows in that zone were almost probably specialized in detecting their preys by hearing or by their sense of smell. That way, three Hollows immediately rushed at her. One from under the sand, one from the see, one from the forest hidden in the mist. Nemu just unsheathed her Zanpakuto. She shunpoed three times, cutting in half the heads of the three hollows, and with a fourth shunpo she was back on the sand of the beach, while the hollows disappeared.

"… You can come out." Even if these ones weren't emanating Reiatsu, she managed to detect them. They came out of the mist. They were three humans. A young boy, around 16 years old, with black, ruffled hair and matching eyes, and a scar over his right eye, a diagonal one. Then, a young man, in his early twenties, with brown hair and green eyes. Finally, a girl around the same age of the first boy, with long, red hair. They were all wearing a strange jacket with lots of pockets over a long sleeveled black shirt, and a pair of black pants with some bandages around the ankles and on the right tight. Then, a pair of black sandals.

"… You… Could you possibly be… A Shinigami?" Asked the oldest of the three.

"?" _How do they know about Shinigamis?_ "… Yes. I am a Shinigami. But how could you possibly know about our existence?" Asked Nemu, stoic as ever.

"It's a long story… Basically, we learned a lot of things about you from some Hollows we captured." Answered the younger boy.

Nemu thought about that for a few seconds. Yes. It seemed reasonable. Whatever happened in that world, it was sure that Hollows and Shinigamis weren't something that they saw that often. They didn't belong there. So, when they finally managed to see them, and noticed that they could talk, they captured some Hollows to get more informations out of him.

"… I understand. You seem sincere. Now… Could you please explain to me the events that led to… This?" Said Nemu, eyeing her surroundings.

"We will. But first, we should head back to our hide out. We had the mission to hunt down and destroy that trio of Hollows, but… It seems that you've stolen our job. Not that I complain…" Said the oldest man, chuckling a little right after.

"… Alright."

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Naruto made his way trough the fire country forest, following what was left of old point of reference, following a road that would eventually lead him to Konohagakure. But he wasn't so sure that he was going the right way.

"… Maybe, if I climb that tree…" Naruto eyed a tree that looked like being the highest he had seen till now, in the forest. He shunpoed a couple of times, and he was on the top. He began to look around… He wished he had never done so right after.

He had found Konohagakure… Or better… What was left of it. The first notable change was the mountain that once carried the carved faces of all the Hokages. It was now destroyed. Or better… Half of it was missing. And of the Hokages now remained just half of the Sandaime and the entire head of the Yondaime. The village… You couldn't call it a village anymore. The enormous wooden walls were still there, but Naruto could see that they had been rebuild, because they were made out of the trunks of the black trees that now populated the forest. The houses were no more houses, but they looked more like huts. And they were less, less numerous. In a few words, the only thing that had not changed was the old Hokage Tower. He jumped back again to the ground, and he began to run as fast as he could.

_Tell me I'm dreaming… Please, someone HAS to tell me right now that this is a dream… A joke…_ Naruto was preparing himself to jump over the wooden walls, but he couldn't even reach the place from where he should have jumped. He had impacted something… Something of invisible. He fell on the ground, on his butt.

"… What the…" He got back on his feet. He observed his surroundings… It had been like had impacted some kind of barrier. He stretched a hand. There it was again. He wanted to make a try. He picked up a little stone from the ground, and he threw it in front of himself. The stone passed trough the barrier like the simplest thing of the world. Then, he unsheathed his sword. He tapped the barrier. That demonstrated it. _… Now, I'm sure that whatever happened to this world has been because of the Hollows. Otherwise… They would not have been in the need of creating a barrier able to repel everything made out of Reiatsu._ "…" Naruto thought about his possibilities. He had to enter in his old village. But with that barrier… He followed his instinct. "Hey! Of the village! Is anyone up there?!"

As soon as he shouted that, two heads appeared from behind the fence. They were both wearing forehead protectors of the leaf.

"Who goes there?!" Shouted the first one. That… Was a question. What could he answer? He couldn't possibly say that he was the same boy that once housed the Kyuubi, killed by Uchiha Sasuke and now back as a Shinigami. But… Then, he noticed the second boy observing him, then opening his eyes wide in surprise.

"You… You wouldn't happen to be Uzumaki Naruto?!" He practically screamed.

"!" Naruto was surprised to use an euphemism, but he quickly recovered. "Y-Yes! It's me!"

"It really is you… Open the gates!" While the gate got opened, the first guard tossed him something. A stone.

"With that stone in your pocket you will be able to pass trough the barrier even if your entire body is made out of Reiatsu! Head for the Hokage tower! Kage-sama awaits you!" He shouted. Naruto swallowed, and approached the gates. The stone worked, it seemed. He placed it into the right pocket of his white captain vest. The gates opened… And Naruto was back in Konohagakure.

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"There! Sunagakure is behind those big rocks, Hanii-san!"

Hanatarou observed in front of him. Yes. There were big rocks. But they weren't big rocks. They were mountains. From what he could see, it was probably a circle, surrounding the village that the little girl talked about. But what looked strange to him was that… The only access was a big canyon, but… It was blocked away by… A huge wall of sand?

"A wall of sand?" He said out loud. He still hadn't lost certain habits.

"Yes. You see, no civilian can leave the village without permission. That barrier is both a protection and a limitation." She said. This caught Hanatarou's attention.

"And… How did you get out?" He asked. The girl pointed to a certain rock on the side of the mountain. Hanatarou walked towards it, and then the girl asked to being put down. Hanatarou did as asked. Sora placed a hand on the boulder, and Hanatarou felt that she was pouring energy into it. But it wasn't Reiatsu… It probably was chakra, from what Naruto had told him. Suddenly, in a flash, the boulder moved, revealing an hidden tunnel.

"This was a secret passageway! But it seems that everyone forgot about it, though. I discovered it a few months ago, but this is the first time I used it." She said, and the she motioned to Hanatarou to follow her inside the tunnel. Just in time, because the boulder closed right after.

"Listen, but… If it's so dangerous, out there, why did you go?" That was something Hanatarou still had to understand. The little girl searched for something into her pocket. She took out a blue stone.

"I wanted to find this. They say that they help people get back in health faster. You see, my grandma…" Sora interrupted her talking. Hanatarou smiled, sadly. How sweet…

After a ten minutes of walking, they reached what seemed like the end of the tunnel. It was a small cave, closed by another rock.

"Behind this, there's home." Sora leaned her hand on it, like she did with the one at the entrance. She poured some more chakra and the rock moved… But this time, the girl didn't walk into the new room. A bunch of arms shoot out of it and dragged her in, instead.

"! Sora!" Hanatarou moved in a flash, and he walked inside the room as well, just in time. Sora was being held by the hair by a man, while other two were around her, glaring. One was holding a very dangerous looking katana in his hands.

"You little bitch… You know the rules!" Screamed the first man, the one holding Sora's hair.

"You put all of us in danger with your little escapade!" Screamed the second one. Then, the third one patted the flat of his weapon against his right palm.

"You know what happens to those who break rules, right?" He said, smirking. Hanatarou couldn't believe it… Whatever they wanted to do… They were going to enjoy it?!

"B-But… I had… Grandma…" Cried the girl, tears in her eyes. They kept on pulling on her hair. It had to hurt. Suddenly, the third man raised the Katana above his head, while the second one caught her right hand and stretched her arm.

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The trio of strange individuals ventured into the mist-clouded forest, followed by a silent Nemu. On instinct, the girl was taking in her surroundings, and she was keeping under control the Reiatsu around her. They didn't want to be ambushed by a Hollow, right? Then, the three halted in front of a lake. The lake, unlike the sea where she had landed, had still a normal coloured water. Blue. She saw the oldest of the three individuals pointing towards the water. They were going to dive. Nemu nodded. No problem. She could stay long periods of times underwater. Then, the group jumped in. And Nemu began to take in her surroundings once more.

… _Awful…_ Awful was the first comment that came to the girl's mind. But one would have used horrible or abominable. After all, seeing a big amount of corpses on the bed of the lake was something that would have made many girls shriek in fear.

The little group swam till they reached an opening, completely hidden by a high branch of seaweed. The younger boy and the younger girl moved it out of the way, permitting the older one and Nemu to proceed. Then, they followed suit. It was a tunnel. They swam for about other twenty meters before reaching the surface. And that meant air and light. The oldest man got out of the water first. He then helped Nemu getting out of the water herself. Finally, the other two got out of the water as well. They were in a little cave, lightened by some torches.

"Welcome to our 'home'… To tell you the truth, it's more like an hide-out." Said the older man, stretching his arms like to empathize his words. "By the way, we still haven't made our introductions. My name is Keigo." Then he pointed to his younger companions. "The silent girl is Kyoko. And the scarred one is…"

"Inari." He said, interrupting Keigo. "My name is Inari."

"? Inari…" Nemu began to think about when she had already heard that name… Then, she remembered. When Naruto-san had decided to tell her about her experiences in his home world. So… "Inari-san, wouldn't you happen to know Uzumaki Naruto?"

"!"

"!"

"!"

Not only Inari's eyes… The eyes of Keigo and Kyoko widened as well. Indeed, they knew him. Even if just by name, they knew him.

"Y-You know Naruto nii-san?!" Suddenly exclaimed Inari. "B-But how?! He was supposed to be dead!"

"After his death, he was able to get to the Nirvana of our world. That way, he was able to become a Shinigami." Replied Nemu. While Keigo and Kyoko still couldn't mutter a single word, Inari smiled.

"Eh… As expected by Naruto nii-san… Hey! Since you're here, couldn't it be…" Asked Inari, very excited.

"Yes. I've been transported here, but I wasn't alone at the moment. Your guess is correct. Two of my companions are here as well. And one of them is Naruto-san." She replied. Inari suddenly began to tremble. Then he pumped his fist high in the air.

"YEEEEAH! NARUTO NII-SAN IS BACK!" He screamed. That was what awoken Keigo and Kyoko from their daze. Kyoko was observing the scene, silent. Keigo… He suddenly smirked.

"If what you say is true… I bet that the boss will be very, very happy to hear about it." Said Keigo. This stopped Inari's jumping, but not his enthusiasm.

"You're right! She deserves to know as well! Come on, let's go, Keigo-sensei!" He ran ahead of them in a certain direction. Keigo just shook his head.

"Boy… And to believe that his nick name is 'Seriousness'…" He turned to Nemu. "You practically ruined his reputation."

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"…"

Naruto, after trespassing the gates, had entered what seemed like a nightmare, to him. Long gone was the powerful village of Konohagakure. Now it looked like what it was: a complex of structures and people that struggled to survive. The famous 'will of the fire'… He couldn't see it. Not in the eyes of the inhabitants of the city, at least. They had not lost that only. Naruto didn't want to admit it, but in the eyes of those people he couldn't see even the slightest trace of a will to live.

"…" Naruto clenched his fists. _What happened to my village? To… My world?_ He then began to think about Kiba and Sakura. It was them. He couldn't forget their eyes, their faces… But… The usually warm eyes of Sakura were glacial, while Kiba's playful gaze had turned into a leer.

While walking, he noticed that lots of people observed him strangely. After all, seeing someone dressed like that wasn't something you saw everyday… Now that they were in that situation, it was even more rare. But they didn't seem to recognize him as Naruto Uzumaki. Had he changed that much?

"N-Naruto?"

"!" Naruto turned to his right in swift reaction to the voice calling his name. Someone had recognized him… And he recognized her as well. She was older, and she wasn't dressed as he was used to see her, but… Her eyes hadn't changed, incredibly. Long brown hair, black eyes… Her lips, now trembling… Her face, now full of dirt… That smell of ramen, now so faint… "A-Ayame nee-chan!"

"Is… Is it really you? Ohhh…" The girl suddenly dropped what she was carrying, a bag full of apples, and she slumped to the ground unconscious. But she never reached the ground. Naruto caught her in time.

"…" _She probably thought to have seen a ghost… Eh. She didn't miss it by far._

Naruto felt two distinct aura appearing around him, in a puff of smoke. Two ANBU. One was a female, with short brown hair, wearing a lizard mask. The other one was a male, with long black hair, wearing a bird mask.

"What happened here?" Asked the male one. Naruto turned around, still carrying the unconscious Ayame in his arms.

"Let's say that she was shocked to see an old friend that disappeared some years ago…" He replied, smiling sadly. He had recognized the ANBU's chakra signature.

"What do you mean? You were a Shinobi of this village?" Asked the female ANBU. Naruto raised to his feet, still holding Ayame. Then, he began to fix the black haired ANBU, who suddenly moved his head back, shocked.

"You… This can't be… I saw you dead…" He said, while starting to remove his mask. Naruto smirked. All the Hyuuga had that particular chakra signature. And there he was. His face showed maturity and strength, but he was Hyuuga Neji nonetheless. "How can you be Naruto?"

"I really died, if that's what you're asking yourself." Naruto smiled sadly a little more, shaking his head. Then, he began to look around. "Neji, what happened here? What happened… In this world?"

"… It's a long story. It's better if I take you to Kage-sama." Said Neji, taking a hold of his right arm. "We can take the girl. I think there's a couch, in his office." _When Sasuke said to wait for his come, I laughed. I even got angry… Guess I was wrong._

Naruto inarched an eyebrow? His? Tsunade baa-chan was Hokage no more? And why did they keep on calling this person just 'Kage'?

"Neji, how many years have passed from my death?" Asked Naruto. Neji did a hand sign.

"Eight years." Neji, Naruto and Ayame disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the female ANBU to think: 'What the hell just happened?!'.

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"You'll hear the rest from Kage-sama." Neji said, taking the girl from the hold of his arms.

Naruto began to look around. They were in the Hokage's office, of that he was sure. But it seemed… Darker than what he remembered. Then, he observed the new figure in the room. The figure was leaning against the desk with his back, and he had his arms crossed. And he was smiling, with his eyes closed. In reaction, Naruto's eyes widened. And then he smirked, observing the ground. How ironic… He had taken even the place that he always wanted to have.

"Important things first?" These were the first words that Naruto heard coming out of Uchiha Sasuke's mouth after years.

"… Yes." Replied Naruto. And so, he proceeded to punch hard in the face his old team-mate, making him fly towards the wall behind his back. Neji rolled his eyes. He saw that coming.

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No one had understood what the fuck had just happened. No one out of the three. A moment before they were about to cut the little bitch's hand. Then, suddenly, a blade stopped the swing of the katana, and other three blades positioned themselves near their necks. Move and you die. Only that… They were just blades. No protection, no hilt, not holder! Then, they slowly turned around when they heard someone say 'Let her go.' and they saw a silver haired man holding a strange Katana, glaring at them. Immediately, they let the little girl go, who immediately ran and hid behind the man. Then, the blades disappeared… And what seemed like an enormous punch made out of blades appeared out of practically nowhere. The punch punched them, of course, and the hit made them fly into the wall, trough the wall, and out of the house. In a swift seconds they were in the street, under the glances of everyone. From the cloud of dust soon emerged their attacker, still holding his Katana. And the little girl still hiding behind him, gripping the leg of his dress.

"How could you even thought of that? Of mutilating a little girl?" He said. His voice low, but dripping with fury. They men nearly pissed themselves.

"B-But… We were just… Following the law…" Stuttered one of the men.

"What about I cut one of your hands? Would you like it?" Hanatarou raised his Katana and sheathed it. Then he grabbed Sora and shunpoed out of the way of a gust of wind. The men were hit head on.

"I don't know your motives…" Hanatarou landed upon the roof of a house, and he turned towards his sudden attacker. A woman. It was a woman with his long, blonde hair, tied into four pigtails. She was holding an enormous fan, and she was wearing a black kimono. Tied around her forehead, a forehead protector with a strange symbol. "But you're attacking civilians of Sunagakure." The men were out cold, otherwise they would have told her that she had attacked them as well. "For that, I have to arrest you."

"…" Hanatarou observed her. And then, he said something very Zaraki-like. "Try your luck."

"Ninpou! Kamaitachi!" Said the girl, and she swung her fan. More gusts of wind rocketed towards him, only that these ones cut trough the buildings. Hanatarou shunpoed away. He left Sora on the roof of a house, and then shunpoed away on a house on the opposite side of the street.

"… It seems that you use wind, for your attacks." Hanatarou moved his hands towards the hilt of his sword… "If that's so, you will never be able to defeat me." But he suddenly stretched his entire right arm in front of him, towards the girl who was attacking him again, with the same technique.

The girl expected him to dodge… But instead, she saw something… That was impossible! The wind got stopped… And suddenly, tens of blades appeared out of thin air and impacted themselves in the ground and in the roof of the house. And even more suddenly, she found herself surrounded by more of these blades, each one pointing at one vital spot.

"You use your fan as a weapon, producing strong gusts of wind that you infuse with chakra, making them able to cut trough anything. But, too bad for you, my weapon is all the air in the atmosphere." He said.

The girl wasn't able to believe her eyes… Or her ears. She was a special Jounin of Konohagakure, dammit! Yes, she was passing trough a particular period of her life, but still… That man had managed to give checkmate to her in less than a minute. Then, the blades disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.

"I do not wish to fight." Hanatarou shunpoed again, landing near Sora. "I was just protecting this child."

"… Who are you?" Asked the girl… Well, woman. She obviously wasn't an adolescent. She seemed in her mid twenties.

"… Yamada Hanatarou." He replied.

"… That's easy to remember."

"!"

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Nemu had followed her three new acquaintances. They had arrived in what looked like an enormous underground cave. Stalactites and stalagmites of enormous proportion decorated it, so big that she could see houses and various other constructions built inside them. It was very dark. The light was provided by enormous wooden torches placed all over the place. People walked, entered and exited the constructions. The trio motioned her to move onto a rudimental construction made of wood and ropes. Some kind of elevator, it seemed. She stepped on it. Then, in a few seconds, they were at the lowest level of the city.

"Yeah! Now, to find the boss…" Said Inari, still enthusiastic.

"There will be no need to search, Inari. I'm right here."

"! Boss!"

Nemu turned around. She didn't know why, but she had expected the 'boss' to be a man… And she was wrong, it seemed. The boss was a girl. She was very tall, and she had long black hair tied into two tails. She was wearing a pair of blue pants, covering her legs from her waist to the middle of her shins, and a top that covered just her breasts and part of her shoulders and stomach, leaving her navel bare, and a pair of heeled shoes. Some parts of her body were covered by bandages, including part of her face. But, nonetheless, she was… What was that human word? Ah, yes. Sexy.

"Boss! Boss! You'll never guess what news I bring you!" Shouted Inari.

"Mymymy… If it made you lose your usual seriousness it must be something big…" Then, the girl eyed Nemu. "Is it somewhat related to our new guest?"

"Yes! Nemu-san, this woman is Isaribi, the boss of our little community! And Isaribi-boss, this is Kurotsuchi Nemu, a shinigami!"

"A shinigami…" Isaribi eyed Nemu a little… Then, she smiled, with something that resembled determination. "Yes. This is really great news."

"But not only that, Isaribi-boss!" Inari caught Isaribi's attention again. "She's not alone! Along with her, two other Shinigamis have came to this world! And guess what?! ONE OF THEM IS NARUTO-NIISAN!"

"…" Isaribi didn't react, at first. Because her brain took her time to analyze and comprehend Inari's words. Three shinigami had arrived in their world. One of the was Naruto. Naruto was back. So, her body reacted the most natural way her brain processed. She fainted on the spot.

"… Is she alright?" Asked Nemu, while Inari snickered and Keigo just sighed.

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Hanatarou hadn't even noticed his new opponent appear behind his back… Well, it wasn't an opponent, it seemed, since he was just standing behind him, observing him with his arms crossed. The shinigami took his time to observe him. He was a tall man, with red hair and green eyes, and two strange circles surrounding his eyes. He was wearing red clothes, that seemed like battle gear, to him. And most notable thing… He was carrying an enormous gourd on his back.

"I apologize for my sister's behaviour. Lately, she tends to not think about her actions very much. Probably ormones…" Then, the redhead turned his gaze to the blonde girl he was battling a few seconds before. "Temari, I've already told you to be careful to who you attack. Do I have to remind what happened to that poor man who was trying to start a couple of fireworks?"

"…" The woman blushed, and turned away. "It's just… PMSing, probably… I mean, I'm going to have a baby, am I not?"

"That's another bonus to why you should take it easy and avoid battle at least in the village, even if your permission will start in two weeks." Said that, he went back to his conversation with Hanatarou. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. It's true that I made a rule of giving hard punishments to those who went out of the village without an authorization, but cutting off a little girl's hand is too much. And…" Gaara eyed the three men, still knocked out. "It's not them who are in charge of delivering punishment."

"You established the law… So, that means that you're the highest authority or something like that, here?" Asked Hanatarou, Sora still hiding behind him.

"Yes. I'm the Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara."

"!" _Sabaku no Gaara?!_ Hanatarou's eyes widened. Naruto had talked about him. What if… "Sabaku no Gaara… Could it be… That you know Uzumaki Naruto?"

"!" One who knew Gaara really well knew that few things could make him lose his composure. And one of the was hearing the name of a person dead from years coming from the mouth of a complete stranger. "… You know him?"

"… I think we have to talk a bit, Gaa… Kazekage-sama?"

"…"

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"YOU DAMN BASTARD! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU DID TO ME?!"

Sasuke smiled, while wiping away the blood coming out of his mouth. He knew that the first thing he would receive from Naruto would have been a punch, or something like that. He seemed ready to throw his own desk at him, but it seems that he was restraining himself.

"YOU KILLED ME! YOU TOOK MY LIFE! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING I HAD! MY DREAMS! MY FRIENDS! AND WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?! THEY SUFFERED AS WELL!" It seemed that it would take a bit for him to calm down. "I'M HERE AND I CAN PUNCH YOU AND TALK TO YOU, BUT I'M DEAD! DEAD, DAMN IT! AND ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Finished that, Naruto was panting. It seemed that all that screaming and punching him had taken all his breath from him. Sasuke slowly got back on his feet. Neji just observed the whole scene.

"… Feeling better?" He asked. Naruto regained his breath a little.

"… Yes. But don't think I forgave you." He said. Sasuke shook his head.

"I didn't thought that you did. Not for a single second." He replied. Then, he opened his eyes. He was back with his dead serious face. "But this is not about the two of us, Naruto. It's about our world. And everyone who lives into it."

"… Last time I met you, you didn't give a fuck about anyone. What's with the sudden change of heart?" Even if it could look like that, Naruto wasn't making a joke. He meant what he was saying. Sasuke didn't even flinch, but he smiled again.

"Let's say… That when I took your life, I took some of your characteristics as well… Or better, I was trying to not let you die, at least in a memorial way." He said. "But… We aren't here for 'happy reunions', are we? I suppose you met Sakura and Kiba in… That state."

"… You don't know what they are?" Asked Naruto. Sasuke shook his head a bit more. Then, Neji decided to join the conversation.

"We know about the Hollows, and bits of incomplete informations about the Shinigami." Both Naruto and Sasuke turned towards the Hyuuga. "We managed to imprison a few of them and to take informations about them, but all we know about the Shinigami is that they are some kind of organization that hunts Hollows. And we don't know anything about what the hell they did recently become."

"Mind filling us about your kind? Because one of the few things we know about Shinigamis is they always wear what you're wearing right now." Sasuke smirked. He was right. As always… Or almost.

"I'll tell you everything… But before that, I would like to know what has happened here." He replied.

"… I'd like to answer to that."

A fourth voice had joined the conversation. The voice of a now standing Ayame. Naruto immediately approached her.

"Ayame-neechan…" He leaned his hands on her shoulders. Suddenly, she embraced him.

"… I missed you so much… Everyone did…" She said, in almost a whisper. Naruto could feel her tears wetting his robes. He embraced her back.

"… Ayame-neechan… What happened?"

"It all started… Two months after your death…"

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After getting in the Kazekage's office, Hanatarou had offered Gaara to be explained about Shinigami and the Arrankars, but after hearing about what happened to Naruto's world.

"Two months after Naruto's death… Strange things began to happen. There were notices of strange deaths happening all over the elemental countries."

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While waiting for Isaribi to come back to the land of the livings, Inari decided to fill Nemu about the eight years that had destroyed their worlds.

"Then, a few people began to talk about strange blurs appearing near the deaths' site. But no one believed them… No one did…"

"_But more and more people died in the same way each day. And in the end, some actually managed to see them. Strange humanoid monsters that killed their victims by ripping their own souls off their body. But they always thought them to be hallucinations. Genjutsu, maybe. Then, someone began to notice that after the first times, the victims were always the ones who said to see these monsters. It became clear that there was something, in those stories."_

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"_But no one gave it enough credit… Not before… Three years after your death."_

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"_To the Hollows, during those three years, two things became clear. One. In that world that had opened to them, the most of the people couldn't see them. And two… There were no Shinigamis. To stop them. So, they decided to ally. And they attacked the Hidden mist. All together."_

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"_If they managed to destroy a Hidden Village that way, they would have did the same to all the others. Till only Hollows would remain in this world."_

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"_But in the end… You'll have to ask Sasuke for more details… But the Mizukage and every single nin above the rank of Chunin of the mist used a Jutsu, together. That Jutsu… I don't know the details, but it makes your body explode, morphing your chakra, your bones, your blood… Your entire self in energy. That technique destroyed the village, the hollows, themselves… Everything."_

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"_Today nothing's left of the hidden mist. And on top of that, the explosion had destroyed every single Hollow, releasing their Reiatsu all over our world. It affected the people, making them able to see ghosts, Hollows… Even Shinigami, but you're the first one to ever arrive in this world. But not only. You probably noticed the strange scenery… The blood red sand…"_

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"_The black water and the white sand…"_

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"_The black, horrible trees…"_

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"_Everything was morphed by that release of Reiatsu filled with evil energy. In another year, we managed to began to rebuilt something… But then, suddenly as they first appeared, the Hollows began to show again."_

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"_But we were prepared, this time. Or better… This time, they were invisible no more. We could see them. As clearly as the sky. And we manage to try out our techniques. And we discovered that they worked against them."_

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"From that day, the hidden villages existed again." Sasuke had decided to finish the conversation. "No more as opposed organizations bent on gaining power… But as armies that fought, and still fight against a common enemy."

"…" Naruto observed Sasuke's dead serious face, swallowing and sweating.

"In a few words, Naruto, it's been four years that we are at war with the Hollows."

_Continue…_

_In the next chapter…_

After recovering from the initial shock, Naruto and his companions meet new/old characters, make hypothesis, communicate with each other and finally, take decisions. In the meanwhile, the Arrankars and the Soul Society are moving. Stay tuned!


End file.
